Michigan becomes 2nd team removed from NCAA tourney due to COVID-19

Michigan became the second team removed from the 2021 NCAA Hockey Championship due to positive COVID-19 results, the school announced Friday.

"I'm devastated for these players. These student-athletes have done a wonderful job all year of making sacrifices to get to this point of the year," said head coach Mel Pearson. "It's unfortunate. I don't completely understand the final decision, but I have to respect it.

"They've given so much and to get this opportunity taken away from them, it's hard to swallow. I know it's just a game, but it's extremely important to these young men. It's two years in a row now we've been denied an opportunity to compete in the national championship. It hasn't quite sunk in yet."

Michigan was slated to take on two-time defending champion Minnesota-Duluth on Friday. The game is now a no-contest and the Bulldogs advance to take on the winner of North Dakota versus American International.

The Wolverines finished the season 15-10-1 and entered the tournament ranked ninth in the country and second in the Fargo Region.

Michigan's 2021 outfit featured eight players drafted to the NHL and multiple prospects projected to go in the first round of this year's draft. The highly touted program has won nine national championships in its history.

On Thursday, Notre Dame became the first school to see its tournament hopes nixed after positive tests within the program.